August 22, 2007

This book is published by Archaia Studios Press, which has a plethora of talented comic book writer/artists doing stuff outside the superhero vein. David Peterson does not disappoint either.

If I were pitching this as a movie I would say it's, "An American Tail meets Lord of the Rings." This is a story about mice in the year 1152. They have tiny little cities, and wear tiny little cloaks, and have tiny little swords. It's really all very cute, but is great because it's not cute in that Hello Kitty kind of way. The mice are all very serious and have real problems like predators who want to eat them.

But this story is about a threat from within their own ranks which is set to overthrow one of their cities. The main mice are part of the Mouse Guard, which guard the cities and towns from bad things. They also patrol the borders, chaperone "commonmice" and research wrongdoings. They are truly the adventurers of the mouse world. We follow mostly the three main mice, Saxon, Kenzie, & Lieam in this adventure.

The artwork in this book is phenomenal. This is a hardcover book (the paperback is due out spring 2008) and it would really make a great gift for anyone who likes LOTR type stories. Each panel is a work of art that you can study for details. The mice are very cute and stoic at the same time. There is also blood and stabbing and fighting (not in a Happy Tree Friends way, very minimal but effective).

Really I would recommend this book for men and women and boys and girls, and I look forward to the next one: Winter 1152.